EU wants to enforce 5 years of security and 3 years of OS updates for all phones

[Pixelman]

Content source

https://www.androidauthority.com/eu-smartphone-updates-rules-3205112/

EU lawmakers have proposed sweeping requirements for smartphones sold in the region (h/t arstechnica). The regulators have suggested that phone vendors provide at least five years of security updates and three years of OS updates to their devices. Moreover, the said security and operating system updates should reach users “at the latest two months after the public release.”​

A regulation like this could force companies to roll out longer updates not just for their flagship phones but also for the less premium, budget devices that usually don’t get long-term update commitments from manufacturers.

Europe has been leading the way forward for smartphone regulations in recent times. The region recently passed a law requiring all smartphones to feature USB-C charging by 2024. The latest proposed regulations are even more aggressive in nature and could fundamentally alter the Android phone landscape if adopted.

EU wants to enforce 5 years of security and 3 years of OS updates for all phones

EU lawmakers have proposed that phones sold in the region should get at least five years of security updates and three years of OS updates.

www.androidauthority.com

 

[rain2reign]

I have been a great supporter of this for years. Usually you only find the flagship lines with proper support and the rest being a mini-update that either fixes nothing or adds nothing in the first 6 months and done. It's just a bump in the version number... However, there is the occasional exception, due to popularity, but even those have terrible support past its first year after initial official release in that market/region. I really hate the argument "than you just buy a new one..." that people against such a support cycle regulation give.

Every brand has been doing this, with Apple iPhones being the only exception to the rule.

 

[Pixelman]

I have been a great supporter of this for years. Usually you only find the flagship lines with proper support and the rest being a mini-update that either fixes nothing or adds nothing in the first 6 months and done. It's just a bump in the version number... However, there is the occasional exception, due to popularity, but even those have terrible support past its first year after initial official release in that market/region. I really hate the argument "than you just buy a new one..." that people against such a support cycle regulation give.

Every brand has been doing this, with Apple iPhones being the only exception to the rule.

I understand you. And buying a new phone every few years is like saying to someone if you're poor just get rich.

I remember my first phone Siemens MC60, it lasted from 2004 to 2011. I don't expect that now as everything is getting more complex to maintain as technology progresses.

But changing phones every 2-3 years is just insane. I think we don't need to start about what it does to the environment as well.

 

[Freki123]

Force them to build them with replaceable batteries and long security updates, the planet will thank you